SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 16, 2017) – Franklin Pierce University men's basketball senior forward Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) notched his third double-double of the season with a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Ravens defeated non-conference opponent Bloomfield College 85-80 Saturday evening at the first day of the American International College Holiday Classic. With the win, the Crimson and Grey even up their record at 5-5 while the Bears drop to 7-3.

McDevitt was finding open space on the floor all game, as he was 7-of-10 (70.0%) from the floor to go along with a game-high three blocks while adding two assists. Fellow senior Jordan Lackey (South Plainfield, N.J.) dropped 18 points while he dished out a game-best five assists. Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.) was one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Trent Dixon (Upper Marlboro, Md.) played a season-high 19 minutes off the bench and was 3-of-5 (60.0%) from deep for a total of nine points.

Bloomfield, who was ranked 17th in the November 21, 2017, edition of the NABC/Division II National Rankings, was led by senior center Nick Davidson who matched McDevitt's total with 20 points. Junior guard Safee Abdus-Sabur tallied 13 points, three boards, and two assists. The Ravens shot above 50.0% for the fourth time this season as they totaled a 53.4% field goal percentage compared to Bloomfield's 38.5% clip. The Ravens also outrebounded the Bears by a 46-to-36 margin and scored more fastbreak points 22-to-10 than their counterparts.

McDevitt buried a baseline jumper for the first points of the contest. A few trips down the court later, McDevitt was fouled while attempting a runner. He split his free throws to up the Raven lead to 3-0. Marcus Flemming used a crossover move to get to the rim for Bloomfield's first points. Matt Lajeunesse spun around and attempted a fade-away to push the Bears lead to 4-3. McDevitt continued his strong start with a layup in the post as the Ravens regained the edge. The Raven lead stayed at two points until Lackey drew a blocking foul while making a layup. He missed the free throw as FPU was ahead 12-8. Bloomfield got the two points back on their next possession, then Lackey again got to the rack with ease right through the middle of the paint to reestablish a four-point, 14-10 lead. Ahead by two, 14-12, the Ravens tallied five straight points via a Falu Seck (Washington, D.C.) pull up three-pointer and an Amanie Craddock (Spring Valley, N.Y.) transition layup to lead 19-12.

Bloomfield took a timeout to hoped to cool the Ravens momentum, but McDevitt tallied a jumper to up the Raven edge 21-12. Bloomfield went on a 9-2 scoring binge which was capped off by an Abdus-Sabur wing three as the Bears once again trailed by one possession, 23-21. Raven junior guard David Bradbury (Deep River, Conn.) fed a no-look driving pass to a waiting Lackey beyond the three-point line as the senior drained the long-range attempt to match Bloomfield's three. Five straight from Bloomfield tied the score at 26 all as the Ravens took a 30-second timeout.

With the Ravens trailing 27-26, Dixon connected on a three-ball to push his team back ahead 29-27. The Bears jumped ahead 33-31 off a Rakwan Kelly jumper. Sandiford snagged a rebound off an Abdus-Sabur missed a jumper and immediately passed it off to Craddock who found an open Bradbury for the easy uncontested transition layup. Abdus-Sabur made up for his missed shot with a wing three-ball to push the Bears back in front 36-33. Craddock drove the lane for two for the final points of the half as the Ravens trailed 36-35 at the intermission.

With the game tied 42-42, the Ravens offense exploded for an 18-3 run fueled by dunks from Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.), Devonte McCall (Amherst, Mass.) and three-pointers by Dixon and Lackey to pull ahead 60-45, which was the Ravens largest lead of the game.

Bloomfield cut the deficit to single figures, 64-56 when Keith Washington connected on a catch and shoot three-pointer from the right wing. Bloomfield brought the Raven lead down to six following a lay-in by Kavione Green. FPU moved their advantage up to two possessions until Bloomfield made it a four-point game off a Nick Davidson driving two.

Ahead by only four with 6:46 left to play, good perimeter ball movement led to Craddock finding McDevitt driving from the right side for a layup. Green kept up his strong play down the stretch when he pushed Bloomfield within three, 71-68 with 4:48 remaining. At the 2:12 mark, Dixon's pass was stolen by Green and he picked up the loose ball and went the other way for a layup as the Ravens lead was slimmed down to two, 73-71. Dixon immediately made up for his miscue with a three-pointer on the next possession to push the Ravens ahead 76-71. It looked like McDevitt iced the game by draining a jumper just inside the three-point line as FPU led 78-73, but Bloomfield kept fighting until the final whistle as they fell 85-80.

The Ravens head back to the court tomorrow for the final day of the Holiday Classic at 1:00 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens ), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).